FAQs

Why should I put mulch on my garden?

Mulch breaks down into valuable nutrients and provides an attractive ground cover.

What depth should I put mulch on my garden?

DON'T SKIMP. Too little is as good as none at all.

Mulch should be applied to a minimum depth of 50mm.

Don't mulch too heavy near the base of young trees or shrubs.

Their bark needs sun and air to maintain a healthy plant.

Weeds

Soils Aint Soils take every care in the production of our range of soils and mulches but we cannot guarantee that they are weed free as they are produced and stored in outside environments.

How do I turn my sandy soil into good soil?

Soils Aint Soils soil conditioner designed to mix in with Perth’s sandy soil to create healthy soil and plant growth.

What should I use on my lawn as its looking a bit tired?

Special Lawn Mix is great for top dressing existing lawns and planting new lawn. Designed to produce thick green growth with strong root structure.

Top dress as thinly as possible about 10mm thick. You should still be able to see bits of grass after spreading.

Water in well immediately afterwards.

Maintain regular and heavy watering for 10 days after top dressing.

Fertilise at least twice a year, once at the beginning of Spring and at the beginning of Autumn.

Fertilise more often if a lush green effect is required, but it means more mowing.

Apply fertiliser with a spreader rather than by hand to obtain a more uniform application.Avoid fertilisers that contain a weed killer additive as they often have a high salt content which will damage soil microbial activity, thus affecting the soils structure and chemical balance.

What sand do I use under pavers?

Any clean yellow sand will do. Most people use brickies sand under pavers (brickies sand contains clay which hardens over time and after compaction).

Do Soils Aint Soils deliver bulk products?

Yes Soils Aint Soils deliver anywhere, any place.

We deliver 1 to 100,000 cubic metres.

No job too small or too big.

Safe handling of potting mixes, garden soils and composts

Potting Mixes, composts and soils can be harmful to your health if you do not take some precautions. A group of organisms, called Legionella, is found in these materials and can cause serious illness. Legionella longdeachae is one species known to cause a type of pneumonia infection in humans. The information contained here will help you avoid the disease.

How to avoid Legionella infection?

Due to widespread use of potting mixes, soils and other garden products, there is no guaranteed way of stopping infection. However, these simple precautions should be followed when handling such materials:

Always wear gloves

Keep the mix damp while in use

Avoid inhaling the mix

Wash your hands thoroughly after use.

pH Levels

One of the most commonly asked questions in relations to soil mixes is pH Levels.

What is the the pH?

The letters pH stand for potential of hydrogen.

Soil acidity and alkalinity are measured against the pH scale which runs from 1 - 14.

Most garden soils are within the the range from 4-9. the neutral point of the scale is 7.

The majority of plants in WA thrive in a slightly acidic soil pH reading between 6-7.

All of our soil mixes are blended to suit specific plants groups.

Purchasing the correct soil type will ensure a good healthy garden. It is not so much the current pH of the soil, but many other contributing factors that will decide what the pH of a soil will be once placed in the garden.

A short summary of these are:

Water.As a general guide, the pH level of the water that will be applied to the soil will eventually cause the soil to adopt the same pH level.

Fertiliser and garden insecticides.Not many people realise that every time they apply a chemical fertiliser to their garden or spray a week killer or a insect spray or even snail pallets to their gardens, that they are also creating a chemical reaction in the soil itself that will also alter the pH of the soil.

Organic fertilisers and organic matter.The addition of organic fertilisers or organic matter will also affect the pH of the soil eg Chicken manure is highly alkaline, Peat is strongly acidic. Organic matter is a collective name for any material of organic origin that can be incorporated into the soil, which is then broken down by natural processes in the soil itself eg by plants as they grow and by strong sunlight. The addition of organic fertiliser of organic matter to the soil is beneficial at any time as it is always breaking down and constantly requires replenishing to maintain a good healthy and active soil. However, incorrect applications can cause severe problems in your soil For example, the application of chicken manure to a soil that was alkaline would compound the soil alkalinity to a point where over time the nutrients in the soil would not be available to the plants.

Based on this information the average home gardener does not need to be concerned like a nursery with the fine tuning of the soil. Simply, the home gardener needs to purchase a quality blended soil or conditioner with the correct nutrition and pH requirements for the type of garden being established.